Taste buds, do they change when you eat a healthier diet and take regular exercise?

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Hi everyone. I thought I would put this post up to ask if anyone who has changed to eating healthier and now doing regular exercise noticed a change in taste buds? I had some roast beef today, and normally it would have been fine, but it just didnt taste nice, (the meat was fine, not off) and it just tasted fatty and I had to stop eating it before I brought it back up. My friend had some too and said it was fine, not fatty to her. Could this be my taste buds? Also, I have not had this with any other foods.
Any input would be appreciated.
Many thanks
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Replies

  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    Not taste buds - but one thing you might start to notice is your "tastes" change as you eat more and more healthy foods. Things you used to eat all the time, but might be unhealthy, simply don't satisfy you in the same way anymore. You only used to *think* you were satisfied but your body was craving more nutrients. Now that you eat more appropriate amounts of good foods, your desire to eat the bad stuff is simply not there and you just wont "crave" it like you might have in the past.

    I notice it with fried foods mostly. I'll eat a small amount of the french fries on my plate and realize I simply don't want any more. Or I might have some fried chicken and realize half way through that I am simply "done". Whereas in the past I wouldn't hesitate to crush the whole plate and think about getting more.
  • thatswhatshesaiddd
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    When I stopped eating sugar and processed foods for awhile, my tastes totally changed. For example, smoothie with a banana tasted almost too-sweet to me. French fries, or something like that, would taste like chemicals.

    I'm happy to report, I can eat all that now just fine. :#
  • Beploveshomer
    Beploveshomer Posts: 284 Member
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    I have noticed it. I used to be a sugar addict and now that I only eat it occasionally I notice the natural sweetness in foods like fruit and veggies. I took a bite of an apple and I was like "yum! this is so delicious and sweet!" and even baby carrots can help a sweet craving whereas before I would totally scoff at that idea!
  • Mackneeds2losew8
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    glevinso wrote: »
    Not taste buds - but one thing you might start to notice is your "tastes" change as you eat more and more healthy foods. Things you used to eat all the time, but might be unhealthy, simply don't satisfy you in the same way anymore. You only used to *think* you were satisfied but your body was craving more nutrients. Now that you eat more appropriate amounts of good foods, your desire to eat the bad stuff is simply not there and you just wont "crave" it like you might have in the past.

    I notice it with fried foods mostly. I'll eat a small amount of the french fries on my plate and realize I simply don't want any more. Or I might have some fried chicken and realize half way through that I am simply "done". Whereas in the past I wouldn't hesitate to crush the whole plate and think about getting more.

    This...
    Use to LOVE drinking soda.. I would drink cans after cans a day...
    I stopped because soda was probably the biggest culprit to my weight gain, about a month or 2 after I stopped, I had a sip of my boyfriend's Pepsi (I LOVED PEPSI) and it was actually really unsatisfying and I actually thought "yuck!?"

  • KellyDeitrick
    KellyDeitrick Posts: 76 Member
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    According to the doctor who is doing a gastric sleeve on my hubby, your taste buds do change. He said that as we gain weight, our taste buds become less sensitive to different flavors and seasonings. He said that once we start eating a more healthy diet and especially having to be on an all liquid diet for the surgery, it will be more noticeable. The more we lose, we should see a bigger difference as well. We have definitely seen changes in what we thought used to taste "good". It does not take very long for them to start changing. We have noticed that we are craving more protein oriented foods and veggies. This is just what we have experienced over the past couple of weeks. I am doing the diet with my hubby for encouragement and also for me to lose weight. I don't want to do the surgery, but I do want to be healthy and lose right along with my hubby. :smiley:
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    gagajenks wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I thought I would put this post up to ask if anyone who has changed to eating healthier and now doing regular exercise noticed a change in taste buds? I had some roast beef today, and normally it would have been fine, but it just didnt taste nice, (the meat was fine, not off) and it just tasted fatty and I had to stop eating it before I brought it back up. My friend had some too and said it was fine, not fatty to her. Could this be my taste buds? Also, I have not had this with any other foods.
    Any input would be appreciated.
    Many thanks

    Wat? Roast beef tasted too fatty? It's a reasonably lean cut esp the deli version

    No, it's psychosomatic
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    I notice it with fried foods mostly. I'll eat a small amount of the french fries on my plate and realize I simply don't want any more. Or I might have some fried chicken and realize half way through that I am simply "done". Whereas in the past I wouldn't hesitate to crush the whole plate and think about getting more.

    I wish I could get to this point. I don't eat a lot of fried foods, but I want to. Sweets I can control pretty easily. But I crave fat. Even without fried foods the fat content of my diet is way more than it needs to be.
  • DeWoSa
    DeWoSa Posts: 496 Member
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    My tastes changed after I gave up desserts also -- everything now tastes more rich. I can taste sugar in broccoli and cauliflower now, and even water tastes sweet to me. I have a much more satisfying tasting palate now.
  • chunmi
    chunmi Posts: 38 Member
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    I think so.. I seem to taste vegetables and fruits 'better' now? Like, they used to be tasteless but now they taste so good. funny thing; when i was in recovery for anorexia when i first started eating again i didnt seem to taste anything, didn't matter if it was chocolate or beef, took my a pretty long time until i actually felt like i could taste food again..
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    My tastes changed after I gave up desserts also -- everything now tastes more rich. I can taste sugar in broccoli and cauliflower now, and even water tastes sweet to me. I have a much more satisfying tasting palate now.

    That is impressive
  • Go_Mizzou99
    Go_Mizzou99 Posts: 2,628 Member
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    I gave up processed sugar a few years ago. I mean I still get some in foods that I don't prepare, like when dining out, but I avoid it as much as possible.

    Like those above, I too have noticed that a little sweet goes a long way now.

    I also agree with glevinso that your tastes will change - not your taste buds.
  • gagajenks
    gagajenks Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your input, much appreciated to read the different views/opinions.
  • funfang
    funfang Posts: 200 Member
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    I think so, after eating healthy and cook most our food, out side food usually taste too salty or too sweet for us. We could sometimes taste the "chemical" in the food. I think the less junk/process food you eat, the more you can taste the real food.

    Growing up I have always HATE peppers, I would not eat anything that has peppers in it and the smell of it gross me out. However, about 2 month ago, I had a huge craving for it, I gave in and brought a bag of sweet mini bell peppers and I was in love with it. I now have to eat them almost everyday. I too wonder if it's because I have been excise more and eating more healthy....
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    funfang wrote: »
    I think so, after eating healthy and cook most our food, out side food usually taste too salty or too sweet for us. We could sometimes taste the "chemical" in the food. I think the less junk/process food you eat, the more you can taste the real food.

    Growing up I have always HATE peppers, I would not eat anything that has peppers in it and the smell of it gross me out. However, about 2 month ago, I had a huge craving for it, I gave in and brought a bag of sweet mini bell peppers and I was in love with it. I now have to eat them almost everyday. I too wonder if it's because I have been excise more and eating more healthy....


    For no reason I can discern, slices of red or orange bell pepper are one of my absolute favorite afternoon snacks.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Yes. Absolutely. For many people, we become a great deal more conscious of the consequences of what we eat, and after eating in a healthier manner for some time, we start to crave it. I crave salads, seafood and winter squash. Sometimes I crave yogurt or kefir. I don't crave potato chips or doughnuts or cookies at all.
  • hiswaywardgirl
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    If you're on a low fat or whole foods diet, I guess it could be your taste buds. Roast beef is also more processed and contains preservatives, unlike freshly cooked meat. Your body might be telling you to avoid the processed stuff and eat the real thing.

    Your taste buds definitely change when you start eating healthier -- if you switch to a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables and fruit can start to taste more complex and delicious than before. Junk food can start to taste unappetizing.

    Like Need2Exerc1se said, I have always gotten to the point of not craving sugar, but craving fat. After going a long time without sweets, I could easily walk away from cupcakes or candy, but put deep fried anything in front of me and it is inner turmoil.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    If you're on a low fat or whole foods diet, I guess it could be your taste buds. Roast beef is also more processed and contains preservatives, unlike freshly cooked meat. Your body might be telling you to avoid the processed stuff and eat the real thing.

    Your taste buds definitely change when you start eating healthier -- if you switch to a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables and fruit can start to taste more complex and delicious than before. Junk food can start to taste unappetizing.

    Like Need2Exerc1se said, I have always gotten to the point of not craving sugar, but craving fat. After going a long time without sweets, I could easily walk away from cupcakes or candy, but put deep fried anything in front of me and it is inner turmoil.

    I didn't see where the OP said whether this was deli roast beef from a package/sub shop or if it were real roast beef, freshly sliced off the hunk of meat, with no preservatives. Even Arby's has real roast beef, not the compressed meat-food Oscar Meyer crap.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Your tastes DEFINITELY change when you change the types of food you eat. Once you stop constantly eating foods that have added sugar you really notice a difference. Your palate becomes aware of many more flavors that used to just be hidden by sugar.

    For example, I love quality black coffee now that I've gotten used to drinking it without sugar. There are tons of flavors that I never realized were there before. The idea of putting sugar in it now seems gross.
  • hiswaywardgirl
    Options
    If you're on a low fat or whole foods diet, I guess it could be your taste buds. Roast beef is also more processed and contains preservatives, unlike freshly cooked meat. Your body might be telling you to avoid the processed stuff and eat the real thing.

    Your taste buds definitely change when you start eating healthier -- if you switch to a diet rich in whole foods, vegetables and fruit can start to taste more complex and delicious than before. Junk food can start to taste unappetizing.

    Like Need2Exerc1se said, I have always gotten to the point of not craving sugar, but craving fat. After going a long time without sweets, I could easily walk away from cupcakes or candy, but put deep fried anything in front of me and it is inner turmoil.

    I didn't see where the OP said whether this was deli roast beef from a package/sub shop or if it were real roast beef, freshly sliced off the hunk of meat, with no preservatives. Even Arby's has real roast beef, not the compressed meat-food Oscar Meyer crap.
    True! Nothing wrong with real roast beef. Your taste buds should be all over that.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Well, after losing so much weight nothing has changed taste wise. The treats still taste just as good, the healthy stuff tastes just as bad =/